So many of us use incense in our homes and in ritual. There is something wonderful about watching a piece of resin bubbling away on a piece of charcoal and the room slowly filling with fragrant smoke.

The majority of our resins, gums and woods that we use in our incense blends are sourced from all over world. If you work with the local land or simply want to save some money you with want to try your hand at Wildcrafting.

Wildcrafting is the practice of getting out into your local forest, bush land, parks and gardens or even your own backyard and foraging for plants and herbs that have a practical use. With the goal of incense in mind you will be after plant resins.
Resins are produced by trees to help cover their wounds. Some of these resins release fragrant smoke when heated.

Tips for collecting Resin:

We never want to harm a tree with our collecting so look for mature trees where the resin has become firm if it is still sticky and wet you want to avoid collecting the resin.

Resin come in various colours, from white to amber to dark reds and browns. Look carefully over the tree. Older resin is often very difficult to spot.

A small knife (we use a butter knife) is a really simple tool for loosening the resin off the trunk.
There are so many trees that produce fragrant resins in Australia – you really are spoiled for choice! European trees in Australia are a good starting place: Pine and Cypress are especially fragrant. You could also spend years collecting resins from the large range of abundant Eucalypts.

Wildcrafing incense is fun and free, and it’s a great activity you can do with a few friends. Get out there and start collecting!

Ryan McLeod

This article originally appeared in our old newsletter, Spokes of the Wheel (volume 3 issue 2, Mabon 2016). Photo: Wikimedia Commons

What has this book got to do with Paganism? Nothing, really, and everything.
Because our Real Lives inform our relationship with our divinities, and vice versa, and because understanding ourselves is a key part of growth, both spiritual and temporal. Because everyday, practical wisdom is the heart of witchcraft. And because our understanding of gender is at the heart of every aspect of our culture; for those of us who include both goddesses and gods in our personal or traditional pantheons, engaging with ideas of gender which have been inherited from earlier mythologies, is part of our understanding of our gods, our culture, and ourselves.
I’ve been a pagan, mixing with pagan folk for about 30 years, and our culture can be extraordinarily problematic sometimes; binary gender ideas, and a tendency to romanticise old-to-ancient cultural gender tropes, has led to some of the less pleasant and more challenging moments for me in the pagan scene, and so I do unreservedly recommend books on culture and gender in the ‘secular’ world to all pagans, irrespective of how you feel about feminism.
If you’re already on board with this, then read this book (if you haven’t already). It’s engaging, clear, passionate, deeply relatable, well-informed, and sometimes very funny. You may, like I did, see yourself in Ford’s journey, and find yourself understood, encouraged, and validated by her words.
If you don’t think this book is for you because you don’t approve of feminism, or just don’t care, or think it’s going to be a politically-correct buzzkill, then you should probably read this book. It’s not going to be as bad as you think, because Ford, despite her reputation in the dingier corners of the internet (you know, the corners full of fedoras and neckbeards and people who thought Gamergate was actually about ethics in game journalism), doesn’t hate men, has a lot of compassion, and makes a lot of sense. All the men I know who have actually read this book really liked it. I’ll take this opportunity to also unreservedly recommend Cordelia Fine’s excellent “Delusions of Gender”, which is an absolutely kickarse primer in how gender is socially constructed, and also happens to be a marvellously engaging read.
– Sarah

The book is a collection of essays, interviews and articles from non-theistic pagans exploring the different aspects of being a godless pagan. The book is diverse, thought provoking and often quiet inspiring. The writers explore topics as diverse as scientific paganism, emotional pantheism, faith in the earth, non-liiteral deities, non-theistic pagans in history and most importantly, the godless pagan’s place in the broader pagan community.
– Fran

It’s Winter. What that means in a practical sense is that I make a lot of tea and soup, and sit by the heater at night reading cosy books about English Paganism to kid myself that Winter is actually a necessary part of the wheel of the year, and not personally out to get me and make my life a misery. As far as coping mechanisms go, it’s a relatively harmless one and I make pretty good soup. And I end up with a lot of my bookshelf real estate occupied by Capall Bann publications like this one. Now you know my weakness; if I ever go on a mad rampage, you can throw a random Capall Bann title down in front of me and I shall be pacified.
So yeah, this book. It’s quirky, and charming, and surprisingly salty, despite its “Oprah’s Book Club” style cover (no one would mistake this for, say, a Three Hands Press or Troy publication). Like, really quite salty, in a “oh no she didn’t” sort of fashion. Here are a few examples, from the “Types of Pagans” chapter:

“For every ounce of hereditary witch, you can have several pounds of pretend ones. The pretend ones are much better at it than the real ones who do not tend to be half so impressive.”

“[The Hedge Witch] is one of those ancient phenomena that has cropped up recently…”

“It used to be really hard to be a shaman. You needed to talk with spirits and to have travelled in their realms, rather too closely for most people’s comfort. It is a lot easier now… The shaman’s staff tends to be covered in feathers, beads, rabbit bones and if they are really into it a goat skull that a mate of theirs found in an antique shop in Clapham.Unfortunately most shamans are not shamans. I am reliably informed that real shamans work with spirits and aim to help people in the community.”

“The Faery Tradition: Members of this group are characterised by the inability to spell the word “fairy”.”

“Their gods are the Norse gods, who they claim are not really chauvinistic.”

“Druids are different from Wiccans. I do not know how, because I have never managed to get one to make sense yet.It takes years to become a Druid and I guess I just cannot find one who is old enough to ask. One told me that it involved him growing his hair and wearing a leather thong round his neck while another said he had not finished the course yet.”

And so on, you get the idea. It’s illustrated throughout with drawings by the author; enjoy the one below. I warmed to her wry sense of humour, even when her observant wit was turned on my sort. Further along, Day turns her pen towards matters of practical witchcraft and spirituality, and, with a conversational, down to earth, and humorous wisdom, she covers these very effectively. This is staying on the bookshelf (not heading down for a trade at my local second-hand joint), and while it’s not a comprehensive “how-to”, like, say Buckland’s, it’s got the spirit of how-to nailed down fairly nicely. And it goes jolly well with soup and tea.
– Sarah

Well researched with a healthy reference section and glossary, this is a useful and accessible handbook for ecclectic pagans with a beginner’s interest in astronomy to further their practice.
Although someone Northern-hemisphere centric, it’s packed with useful information, diagrams and interesting little tidbits of history and lore. Lighthearted and easy reading, a great start for anyone looking for an introduction to the utility of learning the night sky.– Dorian

This book while slightly older (published in 1968) is still quite useful. It delves into the historical evidence in Europe to help gain insights into the Druids. His observations on the human psyche and the romanticised notions about Druids that have sprung up with little basis in empirical evidence are interesting and somewhat illuminating. He consults literary sources such as the writings of Julius Caesar to help bring the observations of outsiders to bear and understand how this aligns with archaeological finds. Throughout the book, his main goal is factual information, not idealised notions. Although there have been new digs found in the years since this book was written and new theories have emerged this is still a valuable source of information, well researched and presented. The writing style is clear, concise and accessible. Well worth a look.– Mark

In this sequel to Captive Prince, which I reviewed last month, former prince Damen travels with prince Laurent to the borders of his former homeland. While I found the first book a little slow-moving, I really enjoyed the complexities of the political intrigue and alliances in this second book. Damen is drawn closer and closer to dangerous, calculating Laurent but the secrets of both men muddy the waters and complicate things almost to breaking point. Both characters become far less two-dimensional as we learn more about their pasts. This book is probably not for everyone but it’s a healthy dose of well-written, homegrown queer fantasy. Bonus points if you risk the audiobook version, read by a particularly pervy-sounding American.
– Josie

Book Review: The Daylight Gate by Jeanette Winterson

Reviewed by Sarah Morgan

“You cannot walk here and feel you are alone. Those who are born here are branded by Pendle. They share a common mark. There is still a tradition, or a superstition, that a girl-child born in Pendle Forest should be twice baptised; once in church and once in a black pool at the foot of the hill. The hill will know her then. She will be its trophy and its sacrifice. She must make her peace with her birthright, whatever that means.”

So begins Jeanette Winterson’s novella about the Lancashire Witch Trials of 1612.

Winterson, whose interest in the occult and Elizabethan magic has been a recurring theme throughout her career, wrote this story for the 400th anniversary of the trials, and blends well-researched history with local legend and her trademark poetical magic realism to weave a tale that includes not only the Pendle Witches and their accusers, but also John Dee, Edward Kelley and William Shakespeare. She explores the religious and sexual politics of the age, as well as the personal disputes that background the trials, and weaves those seamlessly with the high magic and folk magic of Elizabethan England; the pursuit of immortality and the perfected soul through the scientific magic of Alchemy, and the use of wortlore and cunning-magic to solve practical rural problems, through healing or harming. Winterson has done her research well, and captures the essence of these, finding a place where they meet without contradiction; the witch-trials become the Daylight Gate of the title – a liminal space between worlds, linking not only High and Low magic, but also a population caught between two Christianities, between the twin blasphemies of “witchery and popery”, between piety and superstition, love and fear, salvation and redemption, between fear of the Devil and old folk traditions, the restrictions of wealth and of poverty.

At this crossroads, history is written.

And she tells a compelling story in the process; Winterson brings 17thC Lancashire to life in all five senses, delighting in language without holding up the tale, and sacrificing neither magic nor realism in the telling. This is a brutally-real world in which magic exists. Teeth rain from the sky, a severed head talks. A background in the history of the Pendle Witches isn’t required, but those who have one can appreciate the historical accuracy and poetic license – and readers with an interest in Alchemy or pre-Gardnerian English witchcraft will find a lot to recognise as well. At 194 pages it’s a short read and a pleasurable one, and a fine introduction to Winterson’s work for a Pagan audience.

This piece first appeared in Volume 3, Issue 5 (Imbolc 2016) of our old newsletter, Spokes of the Wheel.

Birds of Victoria

By Dorian

For those of us residing in the depths of suburbia with its manicured lawns, high fences and vast stretches of asphalt and concrete, it can feel hard to connect to nature. For some, all nearby parks are sporting fields and forests are out of reach. Despite urbanization placing a low priority on creating a harmonious environment to be shared among all species, some have succeeded in adapting to this new industrialized world. Birds are one of these success stories; filling the air with their song alongside the ever-present thrum of busy roadways.

Learning about the native species with which we share a home can be an empowering and rewarding experience. Standing outside on a pleasant sunny day and not being able to distinguish and name many of the subconsciously familiar sounds we hear is a symptom of the problem of the modern, urban disconnection from the natural world.
Australia has over 800 species of bird, almost half of which are found nowhere else in the world.

It can be tempting to view the natural world as distant and outside the boundaries of the mundane; the prevalence of birds are a reminder that we are part of a natural community of living beings. This season, why not join us in getting to know some of our feathered neighbours.

The Grey Butcher Bird

The grey butcher bird is a passerine bird (a perching bird with three forward facing toes, and one back) with a large head, black eyes, long hooked beak and plump body. Its monochromatic plumage features a black head with a white collar, dark wings and pale undercarriage. A close relative of the magpie and currawong, nesting butcher birds are known to swoop when they feel threatened.

A handsome, serious bird with a piercing gaze, butcher birds have adapted well to urbanization. An aggressive, territorial predator, the butcher bird is named for its habit of impaling and butchering its prey on thorns, crevices or tree forks. Prey may be then kept in such a larder for later consumption or used to attract mates.

The butcher bird fills a similar ecological niche to the Northern hemisphere shrike; although shrikes are sometimes referred to as butcher birds, the species are unrelated; one of Australia’s many examples of convergent evolution.

Often mistaken for the cuckoo shrike, butcher birds are smaller, rounder birds with an average length of 27cm. They have a magnificent, varied, fluting song, using their voices to demarcate territorial lines; putting their entire body to work in creating incredible volume.

Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike

Black Faced Cuckoo Shrikes are shy, unassuming passerine birds who subsist mostly
on insects and occasional fruits and seeds, typically feeding on the wing. Continuing
the tradition of European colonists struggling to comprehend Australian native wildlife, Black Faced Cuckoo Shrikes belong to the Coracina family; they are neither cuckoos nor shrikes. Preferring any woodland habitat except rainforests, Black Faced Cuckoo Shrikes are found Australia wide and are common even in the suburbs.

Elegant in grey with a black eye mask that becomes larger with maturity, they are slightly smaller than magpies, averaging at 34cm in length. Often mistaken for the smaller Grey Butcher Bird, the Black Faced Cuckoo shrike has a longer, sleek body and flighty temperament. They can be identified at a distance by their distinctive habit of shuffling their wings after landing.

Southern Boobook

If you’ve been out walking late at night and heard a soft, two-part call similar to that
of a dove, it’s likely to be originating from Australia’s smallest owl, the Southern
Boobook, also known as the Mopoke.

Named for the sound it makes, this charming, wide-eyed, true owl feeds on insects and small vertebrates, including mice, microbats and other small birds. An abundant and adaptable species even in the depths of suburbia, the Southern Boobook is 25-35cm in length with brown plumage with white flecks, with grey, green or yellow eyes.

While throughout history the owl has often been portrayed as a bearer of ill omens, the Southern Boobook is considered beneficial to human habitation by controlling rodent populations. The Southern Boobook can be found everywhere in Australia except for the most arid desert regions. The Southern Boobook can even be found in open farmland, requiring only a few high trees to provide sufficient roosting spots and perches for hunting.– Dorian

This article first appeared in volume 3, issue 5 of our old newsletter, Spokes of the Wheel.

July was chilly, but with plenty of cozy catch-ups with good Pagan folk made it much warmer.

CBD Pub Moot

By Dean

In July, Pagans from all walks of life and various paths braved the cold to gather at The Last Jar Irish Pub. In warm and welcoming surrounds with hot food and cold drinks we chatted away. After an introduction circle we discussed what spiritual or religious background, if any, had people come from before they began practicing Paganism. A variety of heartfelt and sometimes humorous stories ensued, and it was striking both how diverse and yet how similar many of our experiences had been. A sense of “coming home”, of discovering a new yet familiar home in Paganism turned out to be a common theme.

At the July 2017 CBD Pub Moot. Photo by Ryan.

At the July 2017 CBD Pub Moot. Photo by Ryan.

Frankston/Cranbourne Meet

By Dorian

Another pleasant but windy afternoon at the Coffee Club with some new faces and old friends. Serenaded by that irrepressible spirit of Frankston, the seagull.

Central Vic Meetup

By Mark

In the warm inviting indoors of a cafe in Creswick, the Central Vic Heathens and Pagans gathered for a relaxed discussion, drinks, and food. Two new local faces joined us this meeting, after scoping out the cafe to figure out who the pagans were (we blended too well). It was a nice afternoon of company away from the blustery winter weather outside discussing nature, spirits, books and Morris Dancing.

Tag: Pagans in the Park

On the 18th of March The PCV hosted our first Pagan Pride Day, in Edinburgh Gardens. It was an amazing day filled with amazing people and a great sense of community. The event started at 12pm. People started arriving and what was initially a small amount of people grew: we ended up with around 50 people attending.

At 2pm the talks about the various paths started. Our first speaker was Shaz. She spoke about ADF Druidry and Silver Birch Grove. Josephine talked about Alexandrian witchcraft, and we then had Dean who spoke about Asatru (Norse paganism), followed by KC guy who spoke about OBOD Druidry. Next, Fio Talked about the Reclaiming path, then Luca Talked about Wildwood, and Dorian Talked about Chaos magic.

After the talks on the different paths we moved on to our ritual for the autumn Equinox which was run by Josie and Ryan in a Alexandrian inspired style. The quarters were called by Fran (Air), Sarah (Fire), Alex (Water) and Mark (Earth). It was a beautiful ritual that included a meeting dance and lovely music.

After the ritual we moved on to our second session of talk which were about the different meetings and gatherings around Victoria we started off with Ryan talking about the CBD pub moots, then Sarah talking about the Monthly Hills Pagan Coffee Meets. Next was Mark who talked about the Central Vic meetups, and we then had Dean who talked about the Heathen meetups, which include a ritual. This was followed by Nickole talking about Earthsong Witchcamps. We then had Dorian who talked about the newly started Frankston/Cranbourne Meetups, and Shaz then talked about Druid Coffee. The Queer Pagan Men’s meetups where then talked about by Buck, Michel then talked about the Mount Franklin Pagan Gathering, and finally we finished off with Seline talking about Into Me I See.

It was an absolutely amazing day filled with friendship and community spirit. As a fairly new member of the Pagan community I found it to be a great way to learn more about what is available in Victoria and also to meet more like minded people. I would also love to thank the amazing PCV for running the day especially Sarah for being MC and making sure everything ran smoothly. I would also love to thank all the speakers and those who ran the ritual and finally thankyou to everyone who attended as without you it wouldn’t have happened.

— Alex

“I just saw a Reclaiming witch, a Druid and an Anarchist eating grapes together. And they were LAUGHING.”– overheard at the Pagan Pride Day picnic

After a busy and marvelously social day at Pagan Pride Day, we headed on down to Bar 303 in Northcote to see Spiral Dance and KC Guy live in concert, presented by the PCV.

This concert was the perfect way to finish off a day of the Pagan community coming together. KC Guy’s voice is truly enchanting, and just what we needed to chill out and lose ourselves. Spiral Dance has a decades-long track record of bringing Pagans together with their beautiful and very danceable music, and dance we did!

The hot, sticky night didn’t stop any of us from busting out our best daggy Pagan dance moves to tunes like The Quickening, Faerie Tale and our favourite, Black Annis.

By the end of the night our throats were raw, our clothes were heavy with sweat and every last one of us were wearing enormous watermelon-slice grins as we exploded out into the cool night air of High Street.

A million, squillion thankyous to KC Guy and Spiral Dance for travelling from South Australia to perform for us and provide the perfect ending to a perfect day. Thanks also to Bar 303 for having us, to everyone who helped out on the door, and to Mark Hayes for his beautiful photos of the night.

President’s ReportThe PCV has put on over 30 events this year, which is a lot, 25 – 26 of these were coffee and pub meetups. In addition to this we had some public rituals as well as pagans in the park. There is a heap of stuff cooking up for next year which is really exciting.

Secretary’s ReportMemberships keep rolling in, up to about 209 membership now as well as over 900 likes on Facebook.

Treasurer’s ReportNothing new to report, money in the bank is the same as the last few meetings, the PCV has not been running events that make money.

Meet-UpsCBD Moot
This moot is getting really busy, with 2-3 new people pretty much every time that have not been met before, it is exciting to see lots of new faces. The moot is changing venues to the Last Jar for next year to accommodate the fact that we need more seats for the events. Should be slightly more disability friendly with a bathroom on the same floor, however there are still the steps at the front and a narrow door. For 2017 the moots will be running monthly but taking a break for September.

Central Vic
The Central Victoria Pagans in the Café had four meets this year, with an average of 4 – 8 attendees at them. For 2017 the Pagans in the Café and the Central Vic Heathens will be combining the coffee meets and aiming for quarterly coffee meets.

Central Vic HeathensThe Central Vic Heathens in addition to combining with the Pagans in the Café are looking at trying to run some different events next year beyond coffee meets. More to be announced as they come.

Hills MeetsThese meets are going from strength to strength, running in a lovely new venue (Earthly Pleasures), getting about 10+ attendees at each meet, people attending are happy with the format, these meets will be running monthly for 2017.
Two other meet ups in the works – Hamilton, which is trying to get up and running with some support from us and will hopefully start running next year. Also Frankston which Dorian has kindly volunteered to get going next year, at this stage it will probably be bi-monthly in the Frankston area. More will be confirmed as it is organised. ACTION: Need to get a start date sorted with Dorian for 2017ACTION: Need to make sure that the meets that are near each other don’t conflict with each other, PCV or otherwise so as to not make it too hard for attendees to choose what to go to.

Memberships
Seven new memberships have been received since last meeting, no objections to the members were raised, so all new people were approved.

Dates for 2017

Committee Meetings

CBD Meet-Ups

Hills Meet-Ups

Sabbats

Other

15th January

8th January

26th Feb (attach to Druid Coffee, Northcote)

19th February

5th February

5th February Lughnassa (Silver Birch)

19th March

5th March

25th March Mabon (Wiccans)

Pagan Pride Day 18th March Pagan Concert 18th March

8th April (Central Victoria)

16th April (needs to be changed)

2nd April

21st May

7th May

Samhain (May date TBC)

4th June (attach to Hills Meetup, Belgrave)

18th June

4th June

Yule Dinner 24th June

16th July

2nd July

20th August AGM (attach to CBD meet-up)

20th August

6th Aug

17th September (needs to be changed)

3rd Sept

24th September Ostara (Silver Birch/Heathens)

14th October (Central Victoria)

15th October

1st October

19th November

5th November

3rd December (attach to Hills Meet-Up, Belgrave)

3rd December

PCV Hiatus 24th Dec – 7th Jan

Imbolc – *stare at Reclaiming and Lucas*

Pagans in the Park/Pagan Pride Day18th of March is the proposed date for the event. Some of the concepts discussed were – having stalls, a festival feel and less picnic feel, showcase for traditions (someone gets up and talks about each tradition and talks about what they do and who is good to talk to if you want to go further) Need to get the ideas, for location, format etc. then scale back.

ACTION: Shaz will talk to her contacts/arch-druid to get some ideas for running it and what resources are available, possibly Fitzroy/Treasury gardens for the location, if so we need to make sure to follow all the protocols with paperwork etc. for running in such a public locationACTION: The working group need to have a meeting for this, a date will be set.

Yule DinnerGoing to run as the same format as the 2014 one, it was ritzy, nice and well catered, Ryan is hoping to get the prices down to about $35 – 40ACTION: Ryan is going to look for a venue and nut out a menu in the next few weeks. Going to see about getting Casey over for it again to do the entertainment.

PCV Businesses/RelationshipsIs it possible to get us thinking about our kind of relationships with the businesses, loyalty programs, advertising, think of a way to have a financial exchange, perhaps have a charge for being listed on the website?, or the donation of raffle prizes for things like Yule dinner in exchange for a write-up for them in the newsletter, listings for actual health practitioners for pagan friendly businesses (mental health, physical health etc.), hire a pagan (pagan friendly employers) [Get Witch Quick]ACTION: receipt book

NewsletterDue to a number of issues the newsletter has become untenable; a lot of work, hard to get content in and on time from contributors and the amount of time needed to format all the content.
As part of the overhaul we would like to move to a more online format, have it set with schedule of posts hosted on a blog, still have articles and stuff that come on, keep it accessible, drive traffic up more, part of making our resources even more accessible and easy to find.Action: Josie – make a schedule of posts etc. to try and get the format roughly laid out. Volunteers for articles and content will be organised by the committee.

CalendarJosie has made a master document for the calendar, if you give Jo an e-mail to sign up, you can then go in and add your events and change them as need be to help with keeping our calendar as current and accurate as possible.

Julie Brett’s Book TourAction – Start a conversation on the PCV committee page for locations etc. for the book tour, Sooki Lounge – Hills, Norcote – Druid Coffee, Central Vic/Ballarat as well as seeing if people would be willing to play host to her while she is over to assist in making it a successful venture for her.

Samhain 2017
Seline has asked if she can run it again in 2017 – don’t have a date yet, hopefully not actual Samhain, more will be released as it is known.

PCV Concert
Spiral Dance and Kacey Guy concert at bar 303 on the evening of Pagan Pride day $25 normal entry or $20 concession. Ryan is setting up an Eventbrite, and we are thinking of running a tin around at events prior to get donations to help get this to happen (it will cover essentials for the performers such as fuel/flights, accommodation, etc.) Adrienne is making poster designs, the posters should hopefully be available for January

PCV Morris SideWe now have a Morris Side, who are planning to do their first thing at Mt Franklin, dancing the sun up at Mt Franklin on the Sunday. Any committee members wanting to join let Josie, Sarah or Mark know so they can be added to the planning group.ACTION: Alex has now joined the Morris Side

New Committee MembersACTION: Alex, Dean and Lucas are now committee members for the current period.

Working with Children ChecksAction – Can committee members please send copies of your WWC to us so we can make sure that we have a database of proof for legal reasons. They can be e-mailed to the official Collective Gmail account, all details will be kept confidential. Other Business Fundraising – sell the tickets prior to spiral dance and then do the draw and give out at the concert, advertise it well and it will help raise funds for the PCV, potential idea is a pagan hamper with items donated (shirt from Silver Birch and Mt Franklin) items made by committee members etc.

Grants – are there grants that we can get access to as the PCV? Fran is going to look into the grants situation as a friend of the PCV (non-committee member)

Presidents Report – The meetups have run well on their own, people have come to rely on them and expect them to run like clockwork. The PCV is three years old and hopefully is now out of the honeymoon period. Its been great to see how popular the calendar has been, it is now the most visited page on the website.

Secretary’s Report – Memberships have continued to come in and be added to the database. We are now sitting over 200 registered members, it was pretty exciting to see.

Treasurer’s Report – We haven’t been raising new funds, our current balance is $310. Ryan needs to be added to the bank account at some point to bring us up to 3 signatories. Also needs to transfer the money from Paypal across to the account.

Meetups – The CBD meetups are going to move from every second month to monthly to accommodate the wishes of the attendees, the organizers are going to shop around for a possible new venue. The meetup organizers for the CBD are now Ryan, Sarah and Nikole to help with any issues of running the event monthly now.

Sarah motioned that as part of the inclusiveness we need to start finding out a lot more about accessibility of venues that host meetups and events so people know what to expect regarding things like wheel chair access, toilets etc. Seconded by Jo and passed unanimously this will start to be phased in as soon as possible.

Central Victorian meetups are continuing on a bi-monthly system, they have been growing slowly and we have seen some new faces as well as familiar ones at the meetups.

Ballarat PitP is still running along, although it is now being run by Evelyn who lets us know the dates for the calendar.

The Frankston area meetup is starting to get steam and will be keeping us up to date as things are worked out.

The Hills meetups have been running great at the new venue with a great turnout

Membership’s – All new memberships were approved unanimously.

2016 & 17 Dates –

Jo motioned for a change to the regularity of committee meetings, that committee meetings are now going to be every two months and that the additional meetings be tacked on to days that meetups are happening so the committee can gather early have a meeting and then enjoy the meetup. Mark seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.

The remaining meetings for the committee in 2016 will be on the 26th of November (Hills location) and 10th of September (Country location, possibly Castlemaine)

The CBD meets for the start of next year will be (future meet dates for 2017 TBC):

15th of January (First committee meeting of the year)

19th of February

19th of March

16th of April

2nd of May

Samhain 2016 – The ritual was an amazing success, as always Seline hosted an easily accessible ritual that fostered a great atmosphere. It was nice to see new faces, some of which were people that had never attended any public ritual before. It looks like Seline wants to host next year’s Samhain too. Unanimously agreed that if Seline wants to host 2017 Samhain then it is hers to run with again.

Pagans in the Park/Pagan Pride Day – Continuing on from previous discussions the idea of Pagan Pride day was raised again. A small working group was assembled (Nikole, Sarah, Shaz and Dorian) to start getting the ball rolling for a possible February date.

Yule Dinner 2016 – Unfortunately due to circumstances beyond our control (including the sale of the planned venue) the Yule Dinner this year didn’t happen. However we are keen to have another one next year, new venues to be explored and the possibility of a lower price (whether that means only a 2 course meal this time or other options to be explored futher)

PCV Crafts – A new A4 or A5 handout is to be designed (by Mark) and bunting is to be attached so we can start pushing this project. It would be great to have the first section ready for Pagan Pride Day in 2017.

Workshops – There is still a call for workshops that are cheap/free and accessible. We need to approach workshop people and try and see if we can get some of them on board to help with this. We will need to explore what avenues are available for free venues. There could be themes like divination day. Sarah had offered to be co-ordinator for this.

Policy Finalisation – Policies were accepted unanimously as the date for proposed changes had been and gone.

Any Other Business – Dorian has offered to write regular pieces for the newsletter about a different local animal each month.

We are going to trial a What Are You Reading segment in the newsletter, get reviews of what is being read.

The suggested reading page needs an overhaul with some content to be cut and other areas to be expanded, this will happen gradually over the next few months.

Calendar – If a venue or date for an event changes Jo needs to know about it so that she can change it on the calendar so that it is correct. We also need to consider a ban list for people or groups that keep cancelling at the last moment and no longer advertise their events. The calendar gets a lot of hits and we don’t want people getting bad info.

Jo proposed an action that we review the policy for calendar by next meeting, we need to consider redefining what suits the calendar for paganism and have parameters or a policy to cover it. Some of the events being sent for the calendar don’t seem to fit under the pagan umbrella.

MFPG – It would be great if the PCV could supply a person again to run the kids maypole (or a few people)

Sabbats – it would be great if we could run more sabbats, if we could run an event on each of the big sabbats that would be great.

Moons – it was discussed whether we need to offer moon or dark moon rituals, the committee already runs a lot though. The conclusion was that we run a half page ad for the newsletter and see if there are groups interested in running an accessible moon/dark moon ritual preferably in a city location.

A proposed change of wording to PCV friendly businesses so that the policy now reads that when possible a donation would be appreciated.

President’s Report – The collective has kept rolling quite nicely in the absence of meetings, with coffee meet ups, rituals and other events continuing on.

Secretary’s Report – Nothing new to report, memberships have continued to come in and be added to the database.

Treasurer’s Report – We haven’t been raising new funds, our current balance is $310 (TBC). Ryan needs to be added to the bank account at some point to bring us up to 3 signatories.

Announcements – All

– Deepest sympathies to Melbourne Reclaiming, who lost one of their own in tragic circumstances recently

– Meeting quorum policy

– Other Policies

– WWC Cards

– PCV Committee Facebook Group

Memberships – As the PCV isn’t really where we want it yet, due to delays caused by lack of meetings, it is moved that we do not charge for memberships yet and continue to have free memberships. All existing memberships to be rolled over until they contact us to be removed from our memberships. Due to the costs of making membership packs there will no longer be mailed out packs.

Mabon Ritual 2016 – The ritual will be a ritual of abundance with a share and swap of produce. The venue charges a $60 hire fee and a $200 deposit. A small entry fee of $5 will be charged to help cover the hire fee.

Samhain Ritual 2016 – The venue to be confirmed on this one, we want to start advertising soon for it. The date is hopefully going to be the 30th of April. Price to be confirmed.

Pagans in the Park 2016 – Labyrinth at Merri Creek is the proposed venue. As a fun activity it is proposed that a spiral dance or maypole will be taking place at the event. The idea of the event is that it will be a picnic – bring food etc to share and run it like a community picnic.

Yule Dinner 2016 – Once again it is proposed that a sub-committee forms to help run this and report back to the committee. Nickole, Ryan, Josie and Mark put their names forward to be on the sub-committee. A concern raised was accessibility for wheel chairs, it will be looked at this time around. Price will be worked out once venue is confirmed. The general feeling was satisfaction at the previous venue from those that attended.

PCV Crafts – There is not much movement here, no bunting has been returned yet. It is proposed we set up a craft station at the picnic for people to make some.

Pagan Expo 2016 – There is not much to say on this front yet, the PCV is very happy to promote when and if it gets off the ground.

Any Other Business – A proposal that on the contacts page we can have some kind of way to contact willing groups that don’t do public rituals etc. so people that are looking for mentors and teachers have an extra avenue to explore. In addition it is proposed that we link an article from Magickly about the warning signs to look for when becoming involved in private groups.

The Google Calendar has been deleted because it was too unwieldy to use, we will continue to have the calendar in the newsletter and on the website. It is proposed that we consider re-visiting the site and calendar, and perhaps use a calendar plug-in.

It was suggested that due to the success and interest in the Incense Workshop run by Ryan that we consider trying to have some kind of workshop run once a quarter.

A proposal for a Pagan Pride Day/Pagan Job Fair was put forward. It was decided that Nickole, Sarah, Cosette and Dorian would put together a proposal to be put forward at the next meeting.